Maryland Rent Payment Credit Reporting Law Took Effect October 1, 2026

Maryland Rent Payment Credit Reporting Law Took Effect October 1, 2026: Who Must Offer It, and What It Costs

Maryland landlords owning six or more residential rental units in the state must now offer tenants the option of having on-time rent reported to a credit bureau. Chapters 772 and 773 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland took effect October 1, 2026. The duty is to offer; the tenant decides.

Information last verified on October 5, 2026. This is a developing story; we update it as the record changes.

Status: Chapter 772 (House Bill 315) and Chapter 773 (Senate Bill 335) were approved by the Governor on May 26, 2026. Both chapters state that the Act takes effect October 1, 2026, so both are in force as of this writing. Real Property Section 8-208.4(J) directs the Secretary of Housing and Community Development to adopt implementing regulations; we have not independently verified the status of any such regulation as of October 5, 2026.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses two Maryland chapters from the 2026 session, Ch. 772 (HB 315) and Ch. 773 (SB 335), which add Real Property Section 8-208.4 and State Government Section 20-705.1. It does not address rent reporting programs in other states, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act duties of a furnisher or a consumer reporting agency, or any other Maryland bill from the 2026 session. For the broader state rules on leases, notice and deposits, see Maryland landlord-tenant law.

What Happened

Two cross-filed Maryland bills became law on the same day and carry the same operative text. House Bill 315 was chaptered as Chapter 772 and Senate Bill 335 as Chapter 773 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland. Each was "Approved by the Governor, May 26, 2026," and each closes with the identical provision: "SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect October 1, 2026."

Each chapter does four things to the Annotated Code. It adds a new Real Property Section 8-208.4 on rent reporting. It adds a new State Government Section 20-705.1 on refusals to rent to holders of income-based housing subsidies. It re-enacts State Government Sections 20-701(c) and 20-1020(e) with amendments so that the definition of "discriminatory housing practice" now includes an act prohibited under Section 20-705.1. And it re-enacts Sections 20-701(a) and 20-1020(a) without amendments.

The first thing to get right about the rent reporting half is the coverage test, which a lot of summaries leave vague. It is a count of units, statewide, and it is a count of ownership:

"THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY TO A LANDLORD THAT OWNS SIX OR MORE RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNITS IN THE STATE."

Md. Code, Real Property Section 8-208.4(B), as enacted by Ch. 772, Section 1. New statutory language is printed in capital letters in the chaptered text.

The second thing to get right is that the obligation is an offer. A covered landlord "SHALL INCLUDE IN A WRITTEN LEASE THE OPTION TO HAVE THE TENANT'S POSITIVE RENTAL PAYMENT HISTORY REPORTED TO AT LEAST ONE CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY," per Section 8-208.4(C). Nothing in the chapter directs a landlord to report anything to anyone unless the tenant elects it. Subsection (E)(8) requires the offer to carry "A SIGNATURE BLOCK THAT THE TENANT SHALL DATE AND SIGN IN ORDER TO ACCEPT THE OFFER," and subsection (G)(1) lets the tenant submit that completed written election at any time after receiving the offer. This is an opt-in scheme with a mandatory invitation.

The two compliance dates

Section 8-208.4(D)(1) covers new leases: for a lease entered into on or after October 1, 2026, the offer "SHALL BE MADE AT THE TIME OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT AND AT LEAST ONCE ANNUALLY THEREAFTER." Section 8-208.4(D)(2)(i) covers everyone already in place: for leases entered into before October 1, 2026, the offer "SHALL BE MADE NOT LATER THAN JANUARY 1, 2027, AND AT LEAST ONCE ANNUALLY THEREAFTER." So a Maryland tenant on a lease signed in 2024 or 2025 should expect the paperwork during this calendar quarter, not at renewal.

Delivery is specified. The text lists three permitted methods: first-class mail with a certificate of mailing; a delivery service that provides delivery tracking and confirmation; or electronic delivery, but only "IF THE TENANT HAS ELECTED TO RECEIVE NOTICES FROM THE LANDLORD IN THIS MANNER." Worth noting precisely where that list sits in the printed chapters: it appears as subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (D)(2), the paragraph about pre-October 1 leases, rather than as its own subsection covering both paragraphs. If the offer goes out by first-class mail, subsection (F) requires the landlord to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the tenant to return the written election.

What the offer has to say

Section 8-208.4(E) requires the offer to be in the form specified in the Secretary's regulations and to include eight items: a statement that reporting is optional; the name of each consumer reporting agency the history will go to; the amount of any fee; instructions for submitting the written election; a statement that the tenant may opt in at any time after the initial offer; a statement that the tenant may stop reporting at any time but then cannot resume for at least six months; opt-out instructions; and the dated signature block. Separately, subsection (G)(2) lets a tenant request additional copies of the written election at any time, and a landlord that receives such a request "SHALL COMPLY WITH THE REQUEST."

The fee, and the six-month lockouts

Subsection (H)(1) permits a fee only if the tenant elects reporting, and caps it at "THE LESSER OF THE ACTUAL COST TO THE LANDLORD TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE OR $10 PER MONTH." Three guardrails follow. The payment or nonpayment of that fee may not itself be reported to a consumer reporting agency. The fee "IS NOT RENT AND MAY NOT BE CREDITED TOWARDS FULL OR PARTIAL SATISFACTION OF RENT OR ANY OTHER OBLIGATION UNDER THE LEASE," which keeps an unpaid reporting fee out of the rent-arrears math. And if a tenant goes 30 days or more without paying the fee, the landlord may stop reporting the tenant's rental payments, and the tenant may not elect reporting again for at least six months after the date the fee first became due.

A tenant who simply changes their mind gets the mirror image. Under subsection (I)(1) a landlord "SHALL STOP REPORTING POSITIVE RENTAL PAYMENT HISTORY ON WRITTEN REQUEST BY A TENANT," and under (I)(2) that tenant may not elect reporting again for at least six months after the date of the written stop request. Both lockouts are floors ("at least 6 months"), not fixed windows.

The second half: subsidy holders and credit screening

New State Government Section 20-705.1 is a fair housing provision, and its scope is narrower in one way and broader in another than the rent reporting section. It has no unit-count threshold at all. But it is conditioned: it reaches a landlord of residential rental property "THAT USES FINANCIAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING CREDIT HISTORY, AS PART OF A PROSPECTIVE TENANT'S RENTAL APPLICATION," and it opens with the carve-out "EXCEPT AS AUTHORIZED UNDER FEDERAL LAW."

Within that scope, such a landlord may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant who pays rent with the assistance of an income-based housing subsidy on the basis of (1) the prospective tenant's income, (2) the prospective tenant's credit score or lack of credit score, or (3) any adverse credit history that arose during a period when the prospective tenant did not have an income-based housing subsidy, if the period without the subsidy is confirmed by the applicant, by voucher paperwork, by documents provided by a public housing authority, or by a public housing authority responding to a landlord's request. Read that third item closely: it is about pre-subsidy adverse credit, and it is conditioned on confirmation of the subsidy-free period. Subsection (C) then provides that a landlord may not require a public housing authority to verify applicable subsidy dates for purposes of assessing the tenant's credit history.

The definition of the covered subsidy is money moving to the landlord. It means "RECURRING MONETARY ASSISTANCE TO A LANDLORD FROM A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY OR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT IS INTENDED TO DEFRAY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, A TENANT'S RENT OBLIGATION," and it expressly includes low-income housing assistance certificates and vouchers issued under the United States Housing Act of 1937. Nonprofit rental assistance counts, so this is not a vouchers-only provision.

Three express exceptions survive. A landlord that receives funding from a governmental, quasi-governmental or nonprofit source requiring income qualification for income-restricted units may still collect financial information where that collection is a condition of the funding. A landlord may still require verification that a tenant has sufficient income to pay the portion not covered by the subsidy, using an income-to-tenant-portion-of-rent ratio "SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIVALENT TO THE RATIO USED BY THE LANDLORD FOR NONSUBSIDIZED TENANTS." And a landlord may still refuse to rent based on any commercially reasonable and nondiscriminatory use of a reference from a previous or current landlord, or of "THE TENANT'S HISTORY OF VIOLATING A LEASE, FAILING TO PAY UTILITIES, CREATING A NUISANCE, OR DAMAGING PROPERTY."

How the two chapters relate

Ch. 772 and Ch. 773 are the cross-filed House and Senate versions of the same measure, and the comparison confirms rather than assumes it: both carry the same adopted title, "Landlord and Tenant - Discrimination in Housing for Income-Based Housing Subsidies and Positive Rental History Reporting," both add the same two section numbers to the same two articles of the Code, both re-enact the same four subsections, both were approved May 26, 2026, and both take effect October 1, 2026. Subsection by subsection, the operative language of Section 8-208.4 and Section 20-705.1 matches.

One apparent wording difference resolves itself in the printed amendments. The Senate version's income-verification exception once read "THE PORTION OF RENT AND UTILITIES NOT COVERED BY THE INCOME-BASED HOUSING SUBSIDY," but "AND UTILITIES" is struck through in the chaptered text of Ch. 773, so what both chapters enact is the same phrase: "THE PORTION OF RENT NOT COVERED BY THE INCOME-BASED HOUSING SUBSIDY." The exception as enacted reaches the tenant's share of rent, not utilities.

What the Law Actually Says

Several parts of this package are easy to overstate. Start with the two that matter most to a reader.

The first is the nature of the rent reporting duty. It is notice and election, not furnishing. The covered landlord owes the tenant a lease option, a conforming offer, a specified delivery method, a return envelope when it mails the offer, extra copies on request, a capped fee, and a stop on written request. The tenant owes nothing unless the tenant signs. If no tenant in a building ever elects, a landlord that made every required offer has complied fully and nothing has been reported. That is the design, and it is the opposite of the automatic rent reporting some coverage implies.

The second is the scope of the word "positive." The statute defines positive rental payment history as information about a tenant's complete and timely payments of rent, and expressly excludes any instance in which a tenant did not completely or timely make a rental payment, so a missed or short month falls outside this channel. Note the limit of that point: the definition describes what the opt-in channel carries, and the only outright reporting prohibition in the section is the one in subsection (H)(2)(i) barring any report of the reporting fee itself. The chapters do not purport to state a general rule about what a Maryland landlord may furnish to a credit bureau through other arrangements; whether a given furnishing is lawful turns on authorities outside these two chapters, including federal credit reporting law. Readers following the downstream consequences of adverse payment data may find our overview of Maryland debt collection rules useful on that side of the ledger.

On enforcement, the two halves of the package are not symmetrical, and this is the point to be most precise about. For the fair housing half, the chapters build the hook in: amending the definition of "discriminatory housing practice" in Sections 20-701(c) and 20-1020(e) to include an act prohibited under Section 20-705.1 routes a violation into Maryland's existing housing discrimination framework. Chapter 772's purpose paragraph says so in terms, describing the Act as "establishing that a violation of this Act is a discriminatory housing practice and is subject to enforcement by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights"; the same sentence in Ch. 773 was amended to read "a violation of a provision of this Act." Neither purpose paragraph is operative text. What carries a violation into the enforcement framework is the amended definition of "discriminatory housing practice" in Sections 20-701(c) and 20-1020(e), which reaches an act prohibited under the listed State Government sections and does not list Real Property Section 8-208.4.

For the rent reporting half, there is no comparable provision. Read start to finish, including Section 2 and the closing approval line, neither chapter creates a civil penalty, a statutory damages figure, a private right of action, a fee-shifting provision or an administrative complaint process for a landlord who never makes the offer. The only implementation machinery is Section 8-208.4(J): "THE SECRETARY SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS TO CARRY OUT THIS SECTION." Whether some other provision of Maryland landlord-tenant law reaches a failure to make the offer is a question outside the text of these chapters, and this article does not answer it. If you are mapping the lease-and-notice rules the new section sits beside, start with our state-by-state landlord-tenant guide and the Maryland page linked above.

Section 20-705.1, for its part, regulates one decision, the refusal to rent to a subsidy holder, on three bases, and only where the landlord uses financial information in the application. It does not abolish tenant screening, and subsections (D), (E) and (F) say as much. For the general rules governing screening reports and the records that feed them, see our background check law coverage. Maryland has changed other parts of its housing screening law recently as well, including the state's fair chance housing measure.

Analysis: Why This Matters

The following is analysis from the Recording Law Editorial Team.

The interesting choice in Chapter 772 is where the legislature put the burden. It did not require landlords to furnish rent data about tenants who never asked for it. Instead it required an invitation, with a mandatory signature to accept, a statement that the option is optional, and a stop-on-request switch. The asymmetry in the definition of positive rental payment history points the same direction: a tenant considering the option is choosing between a possible benefit and no entry, not between a possible benefit and a possible black mark through this channel.

The six-unit threshold in Section 8-208.4(B) is the provision most likely to be misreported, because it is phrased as ownership of six or more units "IN THE STATE" rather than per property. On its face that is a portfolio count, so a landlord with two triplexes in different counties reads differently from a landlord with one five-unit building. It also means every owner of five or fewer residential rental units in Maryland sits outside the section entirely, so a tenant renting from an owner of five units has no statutory offer to wait for.

Two open items are worth watching rather than predicting. The first is the regulations. Subsection (E) ties the required form of the offer to regulations adopted under subsection (J), and the chapter sets no deadline for adopting them and specifies no interim form. The second is the placement of the delivery-methods list as subparagraph (D)(2)(ii), inside the paragraph addressing leases that predate October 1, 2026, while the new-lease offer in (D)(1) is made "AT THE TIME OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT." Both are the kind of question implementing regulations are built to resolve, and we are not forecasting how the Department will resolve either.

The fee cap deserves one measured observation grounded in the text itself. It is the lesser of actual cost or $10 per month, which means the ceiling is a ceiling and not a price. A landlord whose vendor charges less than $10 per unit per month cannot charge $10. And because the fee is not rent and the nonpayment of it cannot be reported, the statute separates the credit-building product from the tenancy itself: the consequence of not paying the fee is loss of the reporting, plus a six-month wait, not a rent default.

How This Affects You

For renters, the practical sequence is short: an offer document arrives, you read the eight required disclosures on it, and nothing is reported unless you date and sign. Tenants whose leases began before October 1, 2026 are entitled to that offer by January 1, 2027; tenants signing from October 1, 2026 forward should see the option in the lease itself and again at least once a year. Opting out is a written request, and it carries the statutory six-month wait before a tenant can elect again.

For housing providers, the gating question is the unit count, because the section applies only to an owner of six or more residential rental units in the state. Below that line there is no statutory offer at all, which also means a tenant renting from a smaller owner has none to wait for.

For subsidy holders, Section 20-705.1 is the provision to read, and it bites only against landlords that use financial information in their application process. It reaches refusals based on income, on a credit score or the absence of one, and on confirmed pre-subsidy adverse credit, and a violation is now defined as a discriminatory housing practice. It leaves intact a landlord's ability to verify that an applicant can cover the portion the subsidy does not, using a ratio substantially equivalent to the one applied to unsubsidized applicants, and to decline on a documented history of lease violations, unpaid utilities, nuisance or property damage.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. It covers Maryland only and reflects the chaptered texts of Ch. 772 (HB 315) and Ch. 773 (SB 335), 2026 Laws of Maryland, verified on October 5, 2026. Laws change and this story is developing; consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction about your specific situation.

Related articles

• Maryland landlord-tenant laws
• Landlord-tenant laws by state
• Maryland fair chance housing act takes effect

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Last updated: 2026-10-05. This is a developing story; details verified as of 2026-10-05.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Maryland now require landlords to report rent payments to credit bureaus?

No. Real Property Section 8-208.4 requires a covered landlord to OFFER the option and to include it in a written lease. Reporting begins only after the tenant dates and signs a written election accepting the offer, and subsection (E)(1) requires the offer itself to state that reporting is optional.

Which Maryland landlords are covered?

Section 8-208.4(B) states that the section applies only to a landlord that owns six or more residential rental units in the State. The text counts units owned in Maryland rather than units in a single building, and it is phrased in terms of ownership.

What are the deadlines?

For a lease entered into on or after October 1, 2026, the offer must be made at the time of the lease agreement and at least once annually after that. For leases entered into before October 1, 2026, the offer must be made no later than January 1, 2027, and at least once annually after that.

How much can a landlord charge for rent reporting in Maryland?

Section 8-208.4(H)(1) caps the fee at the lesser of the landlord's actual cost to provide the service or $10 per month, and a fee may be required only if the tenant elects reporting. The fee is not rent, may not be credited against rent or any other lease obligation, and its payment or nonpayment may not be reported to a consumer reporting agency.

Can missed or late rent be reported under this law?

The statute defines positive rental payment history as information about a tenant's complete and timely payments of rent and expressly excludes an instance in which a tenant did not completely or timely make a rental payment, so a missed month is outside what this opt-in channel carries. The chapters do not set out a general rule on what a landlord may furnish through other arrangements, and that question turns on other authorities, including federal credit reporting law.

What happens if a tenant opts out and then changes their mind?

Under subsection (I), a landlord must stop reporting on a tenant's written request, and the tenant may not elect reporting again for at least six months after the date of that written request. A separate six-month lockout applies under subsection (H)(2)(iii) if the tenant goes 30 days or more without paying a required fee, running from the date the fee first became due.

Is there a penalty if a landlord never makes the offer?

Chapters 772 and 773 contain no civil penalty, damages figure, private right of action or administrative complaint process for a failure to make the rent reporting offer. The only implementation provision is Section 8-208.4(J), which directs the Secretary of Housing and Community Development to adopt regulations to carry out the section. Whether other Maryland law reaches such a failure is outside the text of these chapters.

What does the voucher provision actually prohibit?

New State Government Section 20-705.1(B) provides that, except as authorized under federal law, a landlord of residential rental property that uses financial information including credit history in a rental application may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant who pays rent with the assistance of an income-based housing subsidy on the basis of the tenant's income, the tenant's credit score or lack of a credit score, or adverse credit history that arose during a confirmed period without the subsidy. Subsections (D), (E) and (F) preserve funding-condition data collection, verification of the tenant's ability to pay the uncovered portion using an equivalent ratio, and refusals based on landlord references or a history of lease violations, unpaid utilities, nuisance or property damage.

Why are there two chapter numbers for one law?

House Bill 315 and Senate Bill 335 were cross-filed companion bills. Both were approved by the Governor on May 26, 2026 and chaptered, as Chapter 772 and Chapter 773 respectively, and both add the same Real Property Section 8-208.4 and State Government Section 20-705.1 with an October 1, 2026 effective date.

Are the DHCD regulations in place?

Section 8-208.4(J) directs the Secretary of Housing and Community Development to adopt regulations to carry out the section, and subsection (E) ties the required form of the offer to those regulations. The chapters set no deadline for adoption. We did not verify the status of any such regulation as of October 5, 2026, so this article does not state that regulations have or have not been adopted.